NY Commentary, Volume 2

On a rainy day in NYC the whole city sweats. It feels as though all of the dirt and grime is absorbed into the humid air and smeared across your face, and walking into the subway is reminiscent of the basketball scene in Along Came Polly ...

NY Commentary, Volume 1

I may have grown up in a place where everyone waves, whether or not they know you, but there are some things about NYC that continue to baffle me. For instance, why is it that people rush to get off the subway, frequently lining up and crowding the doors two stations before their stop, only to slow to a near stop as soon as their feet hit the platform? Is there a secret prize you get for being the first out the door that I am not aware of? And where do they think the rest of the door crowders that they are crowding at going to go? I started a new game, with myself, where every time I am standing in the door on the way home, as we approach my stop, I make a point of standing in front of the doors facing INTO the car while the crowders all gather in front of me, slowly inching their way forward. I cannot tell you how anxious some people get, just because there appears to be someone that could possibly be in their way when they try and get off. Come on!

Abbrev Grievs

Between cell phones and social media, abbreviations have slowly snuck their way in to the popular vernacular. Some may be harmless and some may not make sense. But there are some cases when the meaning of words is muddled through the ever popular abbrev.

Case in point: when abbreving the word gorgeous, "gorg" is probably not the best choice. Ex: telling a friend "you look so gorg in all of your pictures!" Don't know that I'd immediately take that as a compliment.

NYC Rule #1

New Yorkers should have to carry a license to operate an umbrella.

A Thought for the Subway

If you are walking close enough for the brim of your baseball cap to be hitting me in the head, you are walking too close.

Country Bumpkin in the Big City: Ch. 3

Well, what was once intended as a monthly update seems to have decided it is better suited as a quarterly report. But not to worry, to help stay connected I am going to begin incorporating weekly anecdotes from my day to day adventures.  So check back often J

As my New York adventure continues to show me new and amazing things around every corner, the newest experiences have been, surprisingly, with weather. Who would have thought I’d move to NYC and experience an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week? When the earthquake hit last Tuesday, August 23, I was on a call with the entire communications team, which is spread out between our NYC, DC and Durham, NC, offices. It was a ripple effect through the phone as NC felt it first, followed soon after by DC and then NY. Everyone came out of it ok, and none of our offices sustained any damage. And just as everyone began to settle down, in came Irene. Several areas around NY sustained significant damage, including power outages and flooding, but thankfully our apartment is situated at the highest point in the city, so our experience consisted only of howling winds and, while it was still light, an incredible stormy sky.

Prior to the meteorological excitement, J and I were visited by a few Cieslaks from MI. Cousins Sean and Kyle came in for a three-day, whirlwind trip around the city, and man did they fit in a lot! Their first night there, we walked them through Times Square, to really start their trip off with a bang. And who should we see, but Lady Gaga. Granted she may have been inside filming for TRL, but she was kind enough to look out and wave, directly at us I’m sure, just as we walked by. The star-studded adventure continued that Saturday on our walk around the city. We decided one thing they had to see was the restaurant from Seinfeld. A classic NY staple. As we walked up, we noticed a large group taking a picture in front. While the restaurant is famous, we'd never seen such a large group there all at once. Jordan asked one of them what they were doing, and they very casually replied that they were on Kramer's Reality Tour. It turns out the real life Kenny Kramer, Jerry’s inspiration for the character on the show, has a tour where he takes people around to all the famous sites from Seinfeld. Clearly we couldn't meet THE Kramer and not have our picture taken, especially since we were also conveniently right outside the famous restaurant.

Looking ahead, I am excited to see many of you at the upcoming FIRST EVER night game at Michigan Stadium! Here’s to a great season, GO BLUE!

Last Words by Richard Bailey

Editor's note: Professor Richard Bailey, Michigan Today's "Talking About Words" columnist and a longtime and beloved teacher of English, passed away on April 2. We will miss him; his wit, curiosity and intelligence were mainstays not just of this publication, but of U-M and Ann Arbor. He wrote this final column not long before his death. http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2011/04/story.php?id=7967&tr=y&auid=8154059

People like books of last words. Last words either have a feeling of aptness—such as Beethoven's famous raging at the heavens in a thunderstorm before he died—or have a kind of comic twist that we presume is fabricated, such as W. C. Fields's proclamation that he would rather be in Philadelphia.

Consequently, I don't think you can trust the details of supposed last words. This is just as well, since the reality of actual last words is often not pretty or symmetrical. Most last words are dealt in times of agony or are expressions of surprise, since most people are not given the chance to compose with any care their own last words.

Of course, people can produce last words if some planning is enabled by deliberation. Too tidy is often a fake. Too chaotic is often authentic but not interesting.

Last words are often final: and that's all they need to be.
—Richard W. Bailey

Country Bumpkin in the Big City: Ch. 2

In light of the amount of time that has passed since my last installment of CBBC, I thought it time to provide everyone with an update from the Country Bumpkin.

January passed by relatively uneventful. You wouldn't believe the amount of time and energy this "work" business consumes! But February has flown by in a flurry of long work days and busy weekends. The first weekend of the month, I headed down to DC to surprise my friend for her birthday. I have not seen any of my friends since leaving Ann Arbor last summer, so I must admit I needed the trip a bit myself. My train was delayed, so I rushed into her house just as her friends were all singing Happy Birthday upstairs, and made it in time to tap her on the shoulder just as they finished. She was so surprised and excited that she jumped back about 5 feet and started laughing, screaming and crying all at once. We were both so excited to see each other that everything else seemed to fade away, save the murmurs of her friends saying, "That's one of her best friends from home" and "Aaawww!" We had a great weekend catching up and just hanging out. Sunday before I left, she took me on a brief tour through Georgetown and we went out for brunch at the Peacock Cafe. It was wonderful! Nothing like a wonderful meal with mimosas and bloody marys to end a fantastic trip.

The next weekend, was my birthday so J and I spent a few days up in Roxbury, NY. We both took work off on Friday and headed up to Woodbury Commons, on our way up and did a bit of shopping. Our "bit" of shopping ended up being over 6 hours! We couldn't believe that we were there that long; I suppose us having to break for food twice should have been an indication that we had been there a while. But the extent of the outlet and the amazing deals made the time fly by in the blink of an eye. J found some fantastic winter boots--I've been bugging him about how he needed good boots ever since we met--some great deals on a few shirts and a snazzy pair of designer jeans. I also had my fair share of success, walking away with TWO pairs of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, a couple shirts and two dresses that J bought for me as birthday presents. All in all a great success.

The next part of our adventure took us to the Roxbury Motel. We stayed in "Fred's Lair," a room designed to look like the inside of a Flinstone's cartoon; there was even a dinosaur mounted above the closet like a deer head in a hunting lodge. It was a riot! When we walked in, there was a dozen long stem roses and a bottle of champagne chilling on the table with a Happy Birthday note from the hotel. J really went the extra mile to make my birthday special.

The next day we went out to breakfast at this little diner down the road. The town had a very Northern Michigan feel to it, where everyone knows each other and nothing is open past 11pm. After breakfast we went to the main office to look into skiing and dinner options. Although I had all of my equipment with me, and had the downhill skiing itch, I decided I would rather take J cross country skiing for his first time instead--we all know how hilarious it is to see someone try cc skiing for their first time. Turns out J was a natural and we had an absolute blast!

For dinner we headed to Peekamoose, whose chefs, and owners, moved up to the Catskills after working for many years as head chefs in Boston and NYC at restaurants that included Le Bernadin and Gramercy Tavern. It was spectacular! The inside felt like a mountain lodge, and the food had the gourmet flair without being overly pretentious.

The next day, we packed up our things and said good bye to our cozy cave. But before we headed out of town, we utilized our spa passes at the motel and each had an hour long massage to relax us before the drive back to the city. I've never had a real massage before, but after that I am hooked. I wish I could have taken pictures because every aspect of the spa sparkled with amazing blue and silver tiling. Even with all of the places we could go on our adventures, J and I both agreed that we have to go back to Roxbury.

The week after was back to reality. We had a low key Valentine's Day at home, since J had MCAT class that night, and decided to celebrate on Friday instead. Thanks to the generous gift certificate from the Cobanes, we were able to have a very romantic dinner at One If By Land, Two If By Sea. I wore my new red Nicole Miller dress with my Ferragamo heels, and even got my hair to curl! When we got the the restaurant we had a short wait for our table, so we ordered a couple cocktails. Even the bar area was fabulous. They had a grand piano with live music and we were able to snag two seats right by the fireplace. J had an expertly made Old Fashioned and I had the most delicious martini made with horseradish infused vodka and onion stuffed blue cheese olives. I have never had such a savory drink before.

When we arrived at our table, we decided to make our night extra special and went all out, opting for the chef's tasting menu with wine pairings. I usually look at the chef's tasting menus at restaurants as being a way to sucker people into spending more money, but this experience proved me wrong. The menu started with a beautiful presentation of fluke tartare with yuzu foam, soy gel, caviar and mint paper. The combination of textures and flavors was explosive and mellow all at once, and the pairing of sparklnig wine made every ingredient pop. Next came an araucana organic chicken egg with sous vide, braised lentils du Puy, Bev Eggleston bacon, black truffle and virgin olive oil. Again, the amalgamation of texture, flavor and presentation was outstanding. The idea seemed so simple yet so elegantly assembled. For the next course I had steamed dover sole with brussel sprouts, crushed sunchokes, cipollini onion, citrus salt and confit of lemon. J had poached lobster with courgettes, porcini mushrooms, salsify, pepitas and a lobster & tarragon bisque. I cannot comment on the taste of J's, but my dover sole melted in my mouth like a forkful of the most amazing butter, but better. Next came beef wellington with sautèed spinach, roasted beet mushroom duxelle, foie gras sabayon and a bordelais jus. I know I sound like a broken record, but this was yet another delicious delight, but with a homey, comfort food quality. Before dessert came the intermezzo. I cannot remember exactly what they said it was, but J and I both said that it may have been the best part of the meal. It was a small dish of what looked like the lightest gelato you've ever seen, with the most incredible, savory fruit flavor. Somehow they were able to keep the fresh fruit flavor while incorporating a hint of salt and an underlying savory, warm flavor that I could not identify. It was extraordinary. To finish the night, I had gianduja mousse with caramel bananas and banana bread ice cream. Talk about a fantastic finish to an already out of this world feast.

Now that I have undoubtedly stimulated your appetite, I must bid you adieu. Until next time, this is the Country Bumpkin signing off.

Northern Michigan, the Place Known Round the World

I don't have time for a full update and story telling session at the moment, but I just had to share this little story from my morning commute.

I was standing on the subway this morning on my way to work, magazine in hand and the world tuned out. There was this couple standing next to me talking about a house they're renting with some friends next summer, how many rooms it has, etc. I wasn't paying attention until I heard the wife say, "So how close is Bayview to Petoskey?" My head snapped up from my New Yorker and the biggest smile spread across my face. The husband proceeded to explain to her how Bayview is like a neighborhood of Petoskey and how his friend spent all his summers up there while he was growing up. It took all of my self control to not jump into the conversation and start raving about that little place that I hold so dear.

I guess it just goes to show that no matter where you go, and no matter how big the city, there is no where in the world quite like Northern Michigan.